Sick Day with Darry
by Johnny Cade's little sister
Summary: Inspired by outbrake of flu ay my school. But Pony dosent have the flu. Updated! Read and Review if you please.
1. Chapter 1

Ponyboy POV

"Pony, Ponyboy you better be getting up 'fore Darry comes in here." Soda says trying to shake me awake.

"Uhh.. Soda go away. I don't feel good." I felt awful. My head was pounding and I felt nauseas. I wasn't feeling good last night either, Darry made my favorite, baked chicken, but I wasn't hungry and I felt like I was going to be sick. Now I have stomach cramps and I feel cold.

"You sick or somethin'?" Soda puts the back of his hand on my forehead, and jumps back.

"Wow! You're burnin' up Pone. Hold on let me go get Darry."

"No, Soda wait…" but he's already gone. Oh great, I love Darry and all, but he is the last person I want taking care of me if I have to stay home today. He knows how to take care of anything, fever, cold, flu, but he is really rough when he tries to be gentle. I remember when I was 7 and Darry was 14 mom told him to take my temp, but I was sleeping so he didn't want to wake me up. He shoved the thermometer into my mouth really quick like hoping I wouldn't notice. I did. He shoved it too far in my mouth and I ended up choking on it. Darry hasn't taken care of me sense.

He and Soda come into the room and I close my eyes. "You feeling' sick, Ponyboy?" he asks in a disbelieving tone. He puts the back of his hand on my forehead, cheeks, and the sides of my neck. He frowns and turns to Soda.

"Go get the thermometer in the medicine cabinet, Soda." Soda leaves to get it.

"Were you feeling sick last night, Pone?" he asks in a soft tone now

"Kinda" I say

"Anything else feel bad?" he asks as Soda comes back in

I couldn't answer him cause just then my stomach gave a lurch and I guess I looked as bad as I felt because Darry grabbed the waste basket and held it up to my mouth right before I emptied my stomach into it. When I finished I moaned and I tried to lay back down but Darry held me up. I moaned again.

"Sorry, Pony, but I need to check your temperature. Come on sit up" Darry holds me up and puts the thermometer in my mouth. "Soda go get him a glass of water to rinse his mouth out." "Kay, Dare. Be right back Pony." He assures me

"Well Ponyboy looks like you and me get to spend some quality time together." Darry jokes. Soda comes back into the room with the water and holds it up to my mouth. I sip on it and spit it back out so I don't get sick again but I can get the taste of puke out of my mouth. "Pone you didn't get to answer my question" Darry presses "Where else do you feel sick" "My head and I have stomach cramps." I say just wanting to sleep "Alright go back to sleep, I'll wake you up to check your fever this time." He smiles

I put my head back on the pillow and listen to Darry and Soda talk about something I cant hear. My head ache and my stomach cramps get worse and I feel more and more tired. I think I hear Soda calling my name but I'm too tired to answer.


	2. Chapter 2

Soda's POV

After we discovered Ponyboy was sick me and Darry decided that he would stay with him today since he knew what to do with a sick person. I went back to the bedroom to find my brother half asleep on the bed. "Pony? Ponyboy can you hear me?" I asked in a gentle voice. He didn't answer me and I got more worried. I put the back of my hand on his forehead again and he felt hotter.

I went back into the kitchen and confronted Darry. "Hey Dare, what was Pone's temperature when you checked it?" I asked. "About 103, why?" he asked looking up from his paper. "Cause I think it went up." I said. He got up and went into the bedroom.

He picked up the thermometer and shook Pony's shoulder gently. "Pone? Ponyboy, I need you to wake up for me." He whispered in his ear. "He won't wake up, Darry, he's too tired." I said to him. Pony was mumbling in his sleep. "Oh well," Darry said "I guess he doesn't have to be awake." Darry carefully opened Ponyboy's mouth and put the thermometer in his mouth slowly and Pony didn't stir. We waited a few minutes until it was done.

"104.2. Wow, I knew there was a flu going around but, I didn't know it was this bad." He said. "It gets one degree higher I'll take him to the hospital." Just then Ponyboy started to moan. "Uhh, Soda?" he moaned weakly. "I' m right here Pone, where do ya hurt?" I asked. "My stomach feels awful." He groaned. "Where does in your stomach does it hurt Pone?" asked Darry "Mostly in my side." He said. "I'm tired. Can I go back to sleep?" he asked weakly. "Yeah, go head Pone, go back to sleep." Said Darry.

We left the room and Darry went to the phone and started dialing. "Who are you calling Darry?" I asked. "Lizzy, the girl I've been seeing. She's a nurse, and I think she has the day off." He answered me.

I finished getting ready for work and went back into the bedroom to say bye to Pony. I messed up his hair and kissed his forehead. I usually don't show Pony that kind of affection cause he gets embarrassed by it, but when he's sick he doesn't really mind. I left the room and went to the truck and drove out to work. I got there late and Steve wasn't in the best mood. Oh boy, oh boy.

Darry's POV

After I called Lizzy I went back to Pony and sat next to him and stroked his hair. Poor kid, he can't ever catch a break. It's been a month since Mom and Dad died in a car wreck. Then he starting having nightmares that he can't even remember what their about. At least sleeping with Soda is helping some. But only some if they don't stop soon I'm taking him to a doctor. Then I heard the doorbell ring. "Darry!" I hear a singsong voice thru the door. I get up and go to the door.

"Hey, Liz, thank you for coming." I thank her. Man does Lizzy look good in sweats.

"It's no problem. So tell me again, what symptoms is he having?" she asks going into professional mode.

"Fever, headache, vomiting, and stomach cramps." I said knowing she would know what to do. Elizabeth may be only 21, but she is sure good at what she does. Lizzy walked into the boy's bedroom and sits down on the bed. She takes Pony's pulse and feels his forehead. "What was his fever the last time you checked it?" she asks in a calm controlling voice. "104.2" I said not taking my eyes off Pony. "Darry for future reference, anytime one of the boy's temperature is above 104 take them to the hospital." She said looking at me. "Was Ponyboy not feeling well last night?" she asked. "No, but he didn't tell us until this morning." I said feeling a little guilty.

Lizzy turned Pony so he was on his stomach she took the blankets off him and then she lifted up his shirt. "What do you think he has." I asked. "We'll find out in a second." She said as Pony started to groan. "Darry?" he asked opening his eyes. "Hey, Ponyboy" Lizzy says in a sweet tone "I'm just going to check to see what's making you sick, ok." "Yeah, ok. Hey Dare, where's Soda?" he asks like he doesn't get what's happening. "He's at work Pony." I say in a gentle tone pushing his hair back. Lizzy pushes down on his side and Pony gasps then moans. Lizzy frowns and pulls his shirt back down.

"Do you know what's wrong with him?" I ask when we go back into the living room. "Yeah, we need to get Ponyboy to the hospital right now." She says. "Why, what's wrong with him?" She looks right into my eyes and says in a very calm voice. "His appendix is inflamed and his fever is very high. He needs to see a doctor soon to see if he needs to get his appendix removed." "Ok, I'll get him ready."

"Darry?" she asks me in a concerned tone

"Yeah?" I ask going towards the room.

"Hurry up."


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own the Outsiders S.E Hinton does.**

Chapter 3

Pony's POV

"Pone, Ponyboy I need you to wake up for me." Darry says to me softly. I open my eyes to see him kneeling down next to the bed. "I don't feel to good Dare." I said. I was surprised how weak my voice sounded. "Yeah, I know. Me and Lizzy are going to take you to the hospital, ok little buddy?" he asks brushing my hair back. Jeez how sick am I for Darry to be this gentle. "I need you to sit up for a second so you can get a shirt on." He sits me up and my stomach screams in protest. "Darry let me lay back down." I say gritting my teeth. "Hold on for a second Pony. Let me get this shirt on you." He says picking up the shirt off the floor and putting it on me.

"How bad does your stomach hurt?" he asks as he helps put my jeans on.

"Really bad. I can't sit up and I feel dizzy." I say feeling like a 5 year old.

"Alright, we're going to the hospital right now. They'll get ya feeling better once we get there." He soothed. "Hey Ponyboy since you can't sit up I'll carry ya." Now I really feel like a 5 year old. Being carried out of the house whining that my stomach hurt. That was real tuff.

He picked me up and carried me to the car and sat me in the seat next to Lizzy causing my stomach to cry out in pain. "Here Ponyboy," Lizzy said "Put your head in my lap." She gently pushed my head in her lap and the pain in my abdomen lessens. I close my eyes when Lizzy starts to stroke my hair and Darry gets in the car. "Is he asleep?" Darry asks as he starts up the car. "Not yet. Poor kid. Hey Pony if you feel like you're going to be sick tell us and we'll pull over, alright?" she tells me and I nod my head in her lap. Boy am I tired. I hear Darry and Elizabeth talking about things and the car driving.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew is that my head is now in Darry's lap and he's smiling down at me.

"Hey little buddy, how you feeling?" he asked in a gentle tone.

"The same really. Where's Lizzy?" I ask looking around the hospital waiting room.

"We're at the hospital that she works at so she's signin' you in and putting on her scrubs. Lizzy's going to be your nurse while we're here, since you hate hospitals so much." As soon as he says that Lizzy walks in the waiting room with blue scrubs on. She smiles at me and grabs a wheelchair for me and helps me into it.

"Alright, Ponyboy I got you signed into a room and the doc is going to check you to see what's making you sick, kay?" She tells me as she pushes me into the elevator and into a room. Before I can protest Darry picks me up and puts me into the bed.

"Um, thanks. Hey Darry, where's Soda?" I ask him.

"Oh, crap! I still need to call him. Mind if I leave you for a minute to call him?" he asks

"Jezz Darry I ain't 5 you can leave me for a minute." I said a little annoyed at him. I know he knows that I'm scared of hospitals but I ain't a baby about it.

He rolled his eyes at me and then smiled. "Be right back, Pone." Then he left the room. I looked around the room and I started to get depressed. The room was boring white, with a curtain running down the middle. Then Liz walks in the room with an I.V bag in her hand. Oh crap, if she sticks me I'm goin' freak out.

"Hey, little Curtis, I'm just going to put an I.V in your arm so you can get hydrated. Dr. Lower should be here in a sec." She grabs a needle from the drawer and cleans it with a strange swap looking thing. She walks over to me and I start to scoot away from her and the needle. She smiles at me and says sweetly "Baby, this will only hurt for a second. Just close your eyes and look up at the ceiling. I'll distract you so you won't feel it." I take her advice and look up at the popcorn ceiling.

"So, how does your stomach feel?" she asks as she wipes off my arm with disinfectant.

"About the same, but now it's mostly in my side now." I said trying to ignore her about ready to stab me with the needle.

"Ouch!" I yelped shocked as the medal went thru my skin.

"All done." She announced smiling at me. "Now was that so bad?" she teased hanging up the bag.

Darry walked in and smiled at me then kissed Lizzy on the cheek. "Thank you for everything Liz. You didn't need to take your day off for our sake." He said being polite. "It's no problem for the last time!" she laughed and hit him in the chest. "Thank me again and I'll stick you with a needle!" she threatened.

The doctor walked in and smiled one of those fake doctor smiles. "Hello, I'm Dr. Lower. You must be Ponyboy." He said gesturing to me. He shakes my hand then turns to Darry.

"Are you his guardian?" he asked him

"Yes sir. What do you think is wrong with Ponyboy?" he asks getting down to business.

"Yes I do. Nurse Mason has told me of his symptoms and I believe that he has appendicitis. I want to confirm though so, Ponyboy would you lift up your shirt for me?" I do as I'm told and let him push down on my side I gasp and feel awful again I look at Darry and he tries to look encouraging . He's failing miserably.

"Yep, I was correct. We'll schedule you for surgery tomorrow. Nurse get him something for the nausea and pain." He walks out of the room and Lizzy looks like she would like to stab him with a needle. "Typical, I figure out what's wrong with Pony and the doctor takes all the credit. I'll be right back with your meds." She leaves the room and leaves me and Darry alone.

"I called Soda, he'll be here soon. Are you ok with getting the surgery?" he asks me looking right into my eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine about the surgery." I stammer. I really wasn't. I hate hospitals they smell like disinfectant and everything is too clean. People are hollering at each other to get in different rooms and they wheel freakin' body bags with the bodies in them like the flower guy delivering the arrangements. Then Soda and Two-Bit walk in.

"Hey, kiddo how you doing?" he asks as he sits down on the bed next to me.

"Been better. Darry abandoned me when his evil girlfriend stabbed me with a 4 inch needle look it." I show Soda my I.V and he laughs. "You're such a liar. Darry what's he got?" he asked being serious. "Appendicitis, he's getting his appendix removed tomorrow." Darry says like he's talking about the weather. "Whoa, just like that? Man, you ok Pony?" he asks. I guess my fear of hospitals will be exposed to Two-bit today. Great.

"Johnny and Dallas are coming over after school is over." Soda says to get my mind off the surgery.

"Dally actually went to school?" I ask. Dallas never goes to school except maybe once a month to stir trouble with the teachers.

"No, he's going to drive him and Johnny up here once Johnny is out of class." He said.

Lizzy came back in and injected something into the I.V bag. "This will knock you right out in about 5 minutes, so are ya feeling any worse?" she asks. "Nope I feel fine now." She puts the back of her hand on my forehead and frowns. "Your still really warm just get some sleep. Darry I need you to sign some stuff." She and Darry walk out of the room and Two-Bit is making kissy faces at them. I start to feel tried but I try to fight of the sleepiness. Soda looks at me and pushes my hair back. "Go to sleep Pony, we'll be here when you wake up." So I close my eyes and fall into a deep sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own The Outsiders, even though I really want to. I've deiced to keep the POV's in Pony, Darry, or Soda's POV. Just to let you know. Thanks for the reviews.**

Darry's POV

As I was filling out insurance forms for Pony I kept stealing glances at Elizabeth, and I think she could tell. She was being really flirty and doing very inappropriate things to do in a hospital. She would bend over to pick up pens that she would _drop, _leave her dress pulled down just a little bit to tease me and giggle at every little thing that I said. We were acting like the kids that we use to behave like, and it was fun.

"Alright, I got the forms signed, anything else I need to do?" I ask her.

"Nope, all you has to do now is wait for surgery tonight." She said. Tonight I thought, no the doctor said tomorrow.

"Doc said he surgery is in the morning." I told her. Lizzy gave me a confused look and went into Pony's room. Ponyboy was asleep and was sweating somthin' awful. Soda and Two-Bit were talking in low voices being careful not to wake Pony. Liz grabs the cart from his bed and reads it. She scrunches her eyebrows tighter and leaves the room. "I'll be right back." Is all she said.

"What was that about?" Two-Bit asks me.

"I don't know, all I did was say that the surgery is tomorrow and then she came in here." I told them. Soda just raised his eyebrows and looked back at Ponyboy. Soda brushed Pony's hair back and felt his forehead.

"Hey, Dare, I think his fever went up more. And he's really pale." he told me with worry in his voice. I felt his head for myself and Pony started to stir. I sat down on the bed and took his hand. Pony started to moan.

"Darry?" he asked me his voice hoarse.

"Yeah, little buddy?" I answer him trying to be as calm as I can for his sake.

He opens his eyes. They're glassy and hazy, the look your eyes get when you have a fever. "I feel awful." He tells me.

"Where does it hurt?" Soda asks him brushing his hair back again.

"My side." He tells us. He groans and closes his eyes.

"I'll get a nurse." Says Two-Bit walking out the door.

"Does anything else hurt?" I ask him. "Your head you said that hurt earlier"

"I did?" he asks me with confusion in his eyes. He's really starting to scare me. He doesn't remember telling me what hurt 2 hours ago.

"Hey, kiddo, ya did." Soda answers for me. Soda's eyes meet mine and I know that he knows how sick Pony is.

"You know that you're in the hospital though right?" Soda asks him.

"Yeah, I know that." He answers him.

Then Johnny, Dallas, Two-Bit, Steve, and a nurse walk in. The nurse comes over to Pony's side and I hop of the bed so she can get thru. She checks his vitals and temperature without a word. She writes something down on the chart and then leaves.

"Ok, that was weird." Dally says. "How's the kid doing?" he asks

"I've been better." Pony says.

"What's wrong with you?" asks Johnny

" The doc says it my appendix, I have to have surgery tomorrow." He says hiding his fear of needles from the gang.

"That sucks." Says Steve being as nice to Pony as he can since he's sick.

Then Lizzy walks in looking ticked. Dally and Steve are checking her out until I clear my throat. They look at me and mouth "Fine" and lay off. Lizzy checks Pony's fever and side again. He groans and tries to slide away from her. I put my hands on his shoulders pinning him down so Liz can finish examining him.

"Just stay still, Pone. Lizzy won't stick you with another needle." I tell him calming him down. He stays still until Lizzy is done. I take my hands off his shoulders and follow Lizzy to the other side of the room so the gang can't hear.

"I was talking to his doctor, the surgery needs to be tonight." She says to me.

"Why tonight?" I ask her looking at my brothers. Pony looks sick but not like he's going to die. Then I notice that he won't sit up straight like it pains him to.

"His appendix is inflamed to the point that it might burst on the next few hours." She tells me.

"Ok what would happen if it did burst?" I ask her trying not to sound nervous.

** "**Ponyboy could die."

**Dun, Dun, Da! What's going to happen? Sorry for the short Chapter but I've been busy lately and I don't have time to write a long one. Sorry for the long update**.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for taking so long, been busy with Mom's Day and other crap. **

Chapter 5

Soda's POV

Ponyboy was starting to look even worse, his face was white, he was sweating like it was 105 degrees, and he couldn't sit up without looking like he was going to pass out. I was talking to Steve and Dallas in the hallway and Darry and Lizzy where at the nurse's station when I heard a retching sound from inside the room. I went in to see Johnny holding a basin up to Pony's face as he threw up in it. I went to him and rubbed his back and took the basin from Johnny. After Pony was done he groaned again and tried to lie back down, I held him up. He looked confused.

"Sorry kiddo, you need to sit up. You could get sick again." I told him still rubbing circles on his back. I looked at Johnny he just gave me a worried look and then looked back at Ponyboy. I put one hand on his forehead, he felt warmer. Pony turned a sickly green color, I grabbed the basin emptied it into the trashcan and held it up to his mouth he puked again. After he was done I let him lay down. He clutched his right side and groaned. Pony was normally the one who had the high tolerance for pain, so if he was acting like this his side must be hurting like a sonofagun.

"Soda?" he asks looking up at me.

"Yeah, little buddy, what ya need?" I ask him gently pushing his hair back out of his eyes.

"Would you mind getting Lizzy?" he asks shyly.

"Sure, be right back." I walk out to the door to find Dally and Steve waiting there.

"He getting worse?" Dally asks me. I know, even though he wouldn't admit to it, he cares a lot about Johnny and Ponyboy.

"Yeah, he keeps puking and his side is killing him. I'm going to get a nurse." Just as soon as I say that I hear a scream from inside the room. I ran in there to find Pony boy sitting straight up in the bed holding his lower right side then vomited into the basin that Johnny was holding. Lizzy and Darry ran into the room, Liz told Darry to hold him down then she looked at me.

"Soda, go get help!" she said. I ran out and yelled for help. Four nurses came into the room then the next thing I knew Pony was being wheeled of to emergency surgery.

**Sorry for it being short. Please Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Darry's POV

Pony either couldn't or wouldn't let go of my hand. When I heard Pony scream I ran into the room with Lizzy. Ponyboy was sitting up on the bed puking into the basin clutching his right side. I ran over to him taking his hand trying to calm him down, he looked scared out of his mind.

Lizzy checked his side and went wide-eyed. "Hold him down Darry! Get him to lie down!" she half screamed at me. I put my hand on his shoulders trying to get him to lay down but he tried his best to sit up. He wouldn't let go of my hand. He started puking again so I took that as the incentive to make him lay down he screamed again in pain and frustration. Then four nurses run in the room and put him on a gurney.

I still have his hand as they prep him for surgery. I begin brushing his hair back as he focused his eyes on me.

"Darry, god this hurts Dare." He says weakly. I keep brushing his hair back not sure what to say. What can I say? That I have no idea what going to happen? That you might not make it? Because that would be the only thing that was the truth. So I settled on this.

"Just calm down, kiddo, the doc's going to take you into surgery and everything will be just fine. Don't you worry about nothing, the doc knows what he's doing." I tell him as I keep brushing his hair back. The nurse comes over to me looking at me and my youngest brother.

"Mr. Curtis, we need to take him to surgery now. You can't go any further than here." She tells me gently. I take one last look at Ponyboy.

"See you when you wake up, kiddo." I tell him rubbing his temple gently.

The other nurses take him into the E.R and I rub my forehead. Why does all this happen to our family?

Ponyboy's POV

The pain in my stomach was unbelievable, I can't even describe what it felt like except that it kinda felt like a bomb was set of in my stomach. The nurses hooked me up to things and stuck needles into my arms and wrists. I wanted Darry and Soda here so bad I was truly terrified about what was going on. A nurse came over to me and put a mask on my face telling me to count to 10.

_1, 2,3,…._

"The poison seemed to have spread to his intestines, we have to work fast."

_4, 5, 6, 7….._

"Yes doctor."

_8, 9…._

"Scalpel."

_10…_

Soda's POV

I was freaking out in the waiting room with the gang minus Darry. Steve was sitting next to me patting me on the back and telling me that Pony would be ok. Dally was smoking a cigarette in spite of the doctors threats to kick him out of the waiting room. Johnny was sitting next to Steve and Dallas bouncing on his heels and Two-Bit was twiddling his thumbs.

I kept trying to calm down but I couldn't, seeing Pony screaming and vomiting then being wheeled out of the room clutching his side and Darry's hand was too much for me at one time.

"The kid is going to be Soda, the doc is going to fix him up just fine. He'll be back home sticking his nose in a book in no time." Steve tells me rubbing my shoulder. I take a deep breath then drag my fingers thru my hair calming down.

"So what the hell happened anyway?" asks Dally flicking his smoke away into a plant pot looking more annoyed than concerned, but I know better. Dallas Winston may seem like a bad-ass, but he has a heart for Johnny and my little brother.

I remember when Dally first came to town, Johnny was about 9 and Pony had just turned 7. They were playing at the park when a bunch of middle school socs came up to them and started pushing them down and hitting them. Johnny called for help after a really big soc knocked out Ponyboy. I started to run towards them with Darry and Two-Bit when Dally, who was walking on the sidewalk, saw them getting beat up and jumped on the socs making them run off like wusses. When we got to them Dally was helping Johnny up and waking up Ponyboy, Johnny and Pony were fine but Dallas had a huge gash on his forehead. We went to our house and Mom took care of Dallas and ever since then he's been a part of our gang.

"I don't really know, Dally, he just screamed then the nurses wheeled him off." I told him my voice shaking. Darry walked back to us his face pale. I stood up and he clapped me on the shoulder.

"You ok Soda?" he asks me looking me in the eye.

"Yeah, I'm ok, how's Pony?"I ask him trying to not show how scared I was.

"His appendix burst so that's why he was screaming. They took him into surgery, Lizzy was with him. I don't know how long he's going to be in there." He tells me sitting down putting his head in his hands.

"He'll be ok, he's going to be just fine guys. You know Pony he's too stubborn die." Two-Bit jokes. We all glare at him while Dally smacks him upside the head.

"Shut up Two-Bit. Don't say stuff like that." He says.

I bounce on my heels trying to think of other things, but I can't. I can't help thinking of seeing Pony in a coffin, or in a body bag, or his lifeless body on the operating table. Lizzy walks down the hall after about what seemed like an eternity but when I looked at the clock it has only been a few hours. Liz has fresh blood on her shirt, Ponyboy's blood. She's sweating and has a look of freight on her face. Darry and me stand up to get what's happening with our youngest brother.

"How is he Liz, really?" Darry asks her. I look at him, Darry has never seemed this scared not even when our folks died.

"He's stable now, but we lost his heartbeat for two minutes. We're cleaning the toxin out of his system and organs. His fever is 103.7 it use to be 105.8 but we got it lowered. The surgeon is almost done with the surgery. He'll be out in about half an hour, he'll be in pain when he wakes up so keep him calm and as still as possible. Don't let him sit up without helping him, but be careful when you do so, his stitches could bust and he could bleed out." She finishes looking at us. How the hell can she be so calm.

"You said his heart stopped, I heard that people could have brain damage from that their heart stopping, will Pony have brain damage?" Darry asks her fear in his voice.

"It's possible but not likely, remember his heart only stopped for a few minutes. Most people get brain damage from their heart stopping, but that is for about 5 to 7 minutes." She says just as calm. A loud door slam is heard from the operating room we all turn to see a gurney being rolled out and down the hallway. The body on the gurney was that of a teenage boy with reddish-brown hair. It's Ponyboy being wheeled to his room the surgery must be done.

"I gotta go check on Ponyboy, I'll come get you guys when I'm done examining him. Be back in a minute." Lizzy walks to Pony's room leaving us with more questions.

"So he's going to be ok?" asks Johnny standing up. I nodded then smiled at him. He and Pony had always been best buds.

"So how long do you guys get to take off from work?" Dally asks me and Darry. Crap, I hadn't thought about work.

"I have enough sick days to take care of him, for about a week." Darry says. "How many do you got Soda?"

I think trying to add them in up in my head. I hadn't missed any days except for today. "About 5 days I think, that's how many I get paid for."

"Ok, I'll take care of him for two days then we can switch." He tells him as Lizzy comes back.

"Alright , boys, you came go see him now. He's asleep now, but he'll wake up in a few hours. Just remember to be gentle and careful with him."

We thank her and head of to see Ponyboy.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you for the reviews. Means a bunch.**

Chapter 7

Ponyboy's POV.

I can hear voices around me quietly whispering to each other. I try to remember what had happened, I was puking my guts out, and then Soda went to go get a nurse because I felt bad. I try to move but I don't have the strength to, I feel around and realize that I'm lying down on a hospital bed. I groan and try to open my eyes but my eyes feel like they have dumbbells on them. There's a sudden weight shift on the bed and someone pushes my hair back.

"Ponyboy? Pony, can you open your eyes for me?" I hear Darry say gently. I struggle and then finally open my eyes. Darry and Soda are sitting on the bed on either side of me. They are both smiling down at me and the gang is there standing by the bed and sitting in chairs.

"Hey guys." I say. My voice sounds weak like it did when Darry took me to the hospital. Then there's a flash of pain across my abdomen. I groan and Soda holds my hand. Darry pushes my hair back and rubes my head.

"Does your side hurt, Pone?" he asks nicely.

"Yeah, what happened?" I ask them. They look at each other with looks of confusion. Darry looks back at me and smoothes my hair back.

"Your appendix burst, kiddo. You've been out for about five hours with a fever. It was 103 now it's 102. The doc said we could take you home tomorrow since you're doing so well. He also said that you are going to be in pain for a few days and can't go to school for about a week. Just take it easy little buddy." He says.

"Yeah, now all you have to do is be waited on hand and foot." Two-Bit jokes.

"Shouldn't be too hard for you, kid." Steve says smirking.

There's a knock on the door and Lizzy walks in. She looks tired and worn out. Liz smiles at me when she sees that I'm awake.

"Hey little Curtis, how you feeling?" she asks testing my temperature.

"A little sore and my side hurts pretty bad. Is it suppose to feel like that?" I ask her shyly. I fell like a wuss with the gang in here.

"Yeah, but you must have a tolerance for pain. You really should be in the fedal position right now crying." She says matter-of-factly while she checks my vitals. She gives me a wink letting me know that I really shouldn't be in the fedal position, and the only reason she said that is so I can look tough for the gang.

"Alright, everything looks good, you should be able to go home tomorrow. You need anything just give me a holler, ok?" she says leaving the room.

"Yeah ok. Thanks Lizzy for everything." I thank her and she just smiles and heads out the door.

"Darry?" I turn to him as he hops off the bed.

"Yeah?" he asks taking my hand in his.

"Do I really have to miss a week of school? I mean I'm going to have a lot of homework to make up." I tell him. Staying in bed for a week I could do, but having to do a week's worth of homework would suck.

"Don't worry, Pone, I'll get your homework for ya." Johnny says finally speaking up.

"Thanks Johnny." I tell him. Then there's another flash of pain in my stomach and I cringe.

"Hurt again Pony?" Soda asks me still on the bed.

"Yeah, but I'll be fine. Say how long have you guys been here, you don't have to stay because of me. You guys can go home." I say trying to get them to leave so they can't hold me being a baby against my head for a year because of the pain.

"Yeah, I should get home. My ma will through a fit if I don't get there soon." Two-Bit says coming over to mess up my hair. I smack his hand away and the others follow his example Darry offered to walk them out to their cars. After they leave Soda takes my hand.

"On a scale of 1 to 10 how bad does your stomach hurt?" he asks nicely not being a jerk about this.

"It only hurts sometimes and when I move around so I'd say about a 7." I tell him holding on to his hand. He brushes some hair away from my face and smiles at me with tenderness in his eyes.

"Sorry about that, kiddo. The doctor said that you'd be hurting for awhile but if you don't move around so much your stomach won't feel as bad. You keep bothering your stitches that's part of the reason you're hurting so bad."

"Oh, ok I won't move as much then. Can I sit up, my back is killing me?" I ask him.

"Sure, just let me help you. Lizzy said that your stitches could bust if you move around too quickly." Soda gets off the bed and puts my arm over his shoulder he leans me up slowly and gently then puts pillows under my back and gently pushes me back.

"There you go." He says sitting next to me again. Darry comes back in and sits next to me on the side that Sodapop isn't sitting on.

"Doc said that you need to rest. Take a nap, Pone, we'll take you home tomorrow." He says softly rubbing my hand. I yawn and close my eyes.

"You guys will be here when I wake up right?" I asks them already half asleep.

"Corse Pony, will be here. Night, Ponyboy." Soda says rubbing my hair. I lay there next to my brothers and fall asleep.

**Reviews help me make life happier!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Darry's POV

After Pony woke up I had Soda go home to take a shower and get some rest. I kept checking his fever only to find that it had not changed. I guess it was the parental instinct kicking in. Another thing that worried me was that he was talking about or asking for mom and dad when he was asleep earlier and was starting to do it again.

"Dad? I'm cold." He mumbled drowsily putting his hand to his side. I got up and got a blanket for him from the closet in the room. I draped the blanket over him and tucked it around him.

"There you go, little man." I say softly pushing back his hair. He groans and holds his side more tightly. Lizzy said that since his appendix burst and wasn't removed that he would be sore and in pain for a week or two. I get up and look at his chart trying to understand what it means.

The chart was mostly made up of chicken scratch handwriting and numbers. Some of it is easy to understand.

_Name: Ponyboy Michael Curtis_

_Age: 14_

_Sex: Male_

_Insurance: Nonexistent _

_Symptoms: Fever, Headache, Nausea, Vomiting, Abdominal Cramps._

_Diagnosis: Appendicitis_

_Treatment: Surgery Scheduled, Morphine (after surgery for about four hours.), IV drip. _

The rest was just insurance and medical information. The medical insurance part bothered me to no end. How the hell are we going to pay for this? I guess I could put in more time at the warehouse and get a second job. I would hate to ask Soda to work even more hours when he works full-time at the DX every day except Saturday and Sunday. I hate to, but I'll have to get him to ask for some extra hours. We need the money.

Pony starts to moan again stirs. I go over to him and take his hand. He opens his eyes and looks at me.

"Hey Dare." He says weakly smiling.

"Hey Pone. You ready to go home?" I ask him sitting on the bed.

"Yeah. Where's Soda?" he asks me. I know that he would rather have Soda with him right now. They have this special kind of bond that I wish that me and Ponyboy could have.

"He had to go back to work. The Doc said that you get to go home around seven tomorrow so rest up some more alright."

"Alright Darry. What time is it?" he asks looking around.

"About 5:30. You hungry? You haven't eaten anything since the other night." I ask him.

"I am hungry, but I don't want to eat from here. I've seen the food and I would rather eat some of Soda's purple tomato soup." He says.

"I'll run down to the cafeteria and get you something out of the vending machine if you want." I tell him wanting him to eat something. Even thou he's only been sick for three days, he looks a lot thinner.

"Sure, can you get me a Pepsi too?" he asks sounding hopeful. I roll my eyes and nod my head. That kid and his Pepsi. He hasn't had one in about four days and it must be killing him. I take the elevator down to the cafeteria to get him a Hershey's bar and a Pepsi. When I put the dollar in the machine the candy got stuck. I roll my eyes and get on my knees. I reach for the candy but it keeps taunting me by hanging there just out of my reach.

"Come on." I mutter trying to grab the flimsy paper wrapper.

"Ah-hem." I turn around to see Lizzy towering above me smirking.

"This isn't what it looks like." I say trying to make myself look less stupid than I already was.

"Sure it doesn't. Move over." She says laughing bending down next to me sliding her arm into the slot easily grabbing the chocolate. Elizabeth smiles at me handing me the candy.

"Thank you." I tell her standing up.

"You're welcome." Lizzy says taking my hands. She starts to swing our hands together and leans up to me so she's about my height. I move my hands so that their on the small of her back. She puts her hands around my neck and smiles at me.

"So how does it feel dating a sexy nurse?" she asks me putting her head in my neck.

"Feels pretty nice." I say pulling her face close to mine. She looks at me and smiles again. Then she does what I wanted to do to her. She kisses me and I pull her closer to me. We stand there like that for what seemed like forever. Then a older nurse came by and tapped my shoulder.

"Sir, I believe that Nurse Mason has paperwork to fill out." Says the older nurse pulling Lizzy away. Lizzy just laughs and waves goodbye to me. I wave back to her blushing in embarrassment.

When I get back to Ponyboy's room Pony is out of bed rolling himself across the room in a wheelchair.

"And what the hell do you think you are doing out of bed? Get back on the bed!" I tell him.

"Jeez Darry, I'm just bored. Not my fault you took 45 minutes to get back here." He says getting back in bed. As he does so he grimaces and grabs his side.

"Here let me help you." I go over to him and lift him under his armpits. He sits in the bed rubbing his side.

"You ok?" I ask him handing him the food.

"Yeah, just sore. So what took you so long?" he asks me biting into the candy bar.

"The candy got stuck that's all." I say smiling.

**Please review. Don't worry next chapter will be here soon. And yes, Ponyboy will be at home. **


	9. Chapter 9

**I do not own the Outsiders, S.E Hinton does.**

Chapter 9

Soda's POV

Today Ponyboy got out of the hospital but he was far from completely healthy. He still had a slight fever and is in pain. The doc gave him some pain killers but Darry won't let him take him them unless Pony really needs them. Darry said that he didn't want Pony to get addicted to them. I think that Darry is being over protective, but you really can't be too careful with a kid like Ponyboy. The kid already takes aspirin like candy.

Today Darry was going to stay home with Pony and then I would stay with him tomorrow. The station was pretty slow so all me and Steve did that day was take inventory and restock shelves. It was a really boring day until Dally showed up.

"Hey Dallas, what's going on?" I ask him as I load up the shelves with cigarettes.

"Not much man. How's that kid brother of yours?" he asks taking a pack of Kools and lighting up.

"He's doing ok. Him and Darry are at home now. And that will be 35 cents for the Kools." I tell him laughing.

"What you mean this pack of Kools?" he asks holding up the carton.

"Yes that pack."

"Fine fine, here." He says taking out 50 cents from his pocket. I give him the change and Steve walks in.

"Hey Dally how you doing?" he asks sitting on the counter.

"Fine. Hey I gotta go, Sylvia says she's got something special planned for me over at Buck's." he says smirking heading out the door.

"Alright, see ya Dal." I tell him. Steve puts more packs on the shelves.

"So, how are you and Darry going to pay for the hospital bill?" he asks nonchalantly.

"I'm going to put in some extra hours and so is Darry. Man, who would have thought that just slicing someone open and cutting out a appendix would cost so much?" I say not looking forward to working even more over time.

Steve laughs and keeps stocking the shelves. When we get done our boss comes in and he tells us to go home. When we close up the gas station I drive Steve home and then head over to my house. When I get inside Pony's zoned out on the couch and Darry is at the table doing bills.

"Hey Dare. How's he been?" I ask him kicking of my shoes and heading over to the frig for some chocolate milk.

"Ok, he still has a bit of a fever and he needed one of those pills earlier but other than that he's been fine." Darry says not looking up from the stack of paper in front of him.

"That's good. So how much over time do you need me to ask for?" I ask him taking a swig of the milk from the jug and flinging off my shoes.

"About ten hours. I'll take out of the rest." He says looking up clearly done with the paperwork.

"Darry, I can put in more hours. You already work yourself to death every day. Hell, watching Ponyboy is probably the closest thing to a vacation you've had in mounts. Let me help you." I tell him. He's about ready to argue with me but Pony starts to wake up.

"Hey Soda. How was work?" he asks slowly sitting up.

"Work was alright. How are you feeling?" I ask him.

"I'm alright. What's for dinner?" he asks coming over to us.

"Cereal, little man. I don't want to cook tonight. So help yourself to the Wheeties." He says going over to his recliner sitting down and putting his feet up. Pony smiles and rolls his eyes going to the pantry to get the cereal. He makes himself a bowl and sits at the table. I smile at him and get myself some cereal also. I go over and sit by Ponyboy, he looks better and is having less and less stomach pains.

After we had our 'dinner' we went to bed. Pony crawled over me and layed down on his side.

"You know the doctor said that you should lay on your back. You could rip your stitches out, especially if you have a nightmare." I tell him.

"Uhh…. Since when do you listen to doctors?" he asks annoyed.

"Since my kid brother almost died on an operating table. Now lay on your back." I tell him turning on my stomach. He moans and lays on his back.

"Hey Soda?" he whispers.

"Yeah, Pony?" I whisper back to him.

"Did I really _die _when I had that surgery?" he asks trying to hide his fear. I put my arm around him and pulled him close. He scooted into me and buried himself in my shoulder.

"No, no Pone. Your heart just stopped for a few minutes. That's all. Don't think about it, ya dig?" I tell him trying to comfort him. He nods his head and closes his eyes.

"Thanks Soda." He says sleepily.

"No problem Pony. Night." I tell him.

"Goodnight." He says as he falls asleep. I follow suit and drift off.

I was having a dream about the station being a candy shop and that I could eat all the chocolate in there for free when I felt a shutter next to me. I opened my eyes and Ponyboy was trashing and muttering in his sleep. I turned on the lamp on the nightstand and sat up.

"No…No go away. Stop!" he screamed. I shook him and he woke with a start.

"Soda?" he asked confused and still partly asleep.

"You're ok, Pony. It was just a dream." I tell him as I held him. Pony was still shaking and was warm. I pull back a little and feel his forehead. He felt warmer than this morning.

"Pony? Are you feeling ok?" I ask him. He shakes his head.

"What hurts?" I ask him trying to be comforting.

"My head." He says weakly. I feel his head again and look at the door. I think about what I should do. I could get Darry and he could take care of our brother or I could. I decide since I have the day off tomorrow I would take care of Ponyboy.

"Wait here, Pony, I'll be right back." I tell him rubbing his head. He nods and lays back down. I go to the bathroom and get the thermometer and a wet rag. I go back to mine and Ponyboy's room and sit down on his side of the bed.

"Put this under your tongue kiddo." I tell him putting the thermometer in his mouth. I put the rag on his head and rub his arms like dad did when we were sick. Darry walks in the room and looks at me then at Pony.

"Nightmare?" he asks coming over to us.

"Yeah, but his fever is worse I think." I say pulling the thermometer out of Pony's mouth. He moaned and rolled over on his side.

"What's it say?" Darry asks as he rubbed Pony's back.

"102.1. Is that bad?" I ask him. I knew what to do for Ponyboy, but I didn't know how bad things where.

"It's a fever, but 102 isn't that high." He says rubbing Pony's shoulders. "Ponyboy? How you feel?" he asks him.

"Not so great." Pony says sleepily. "Can I sleep. You need to go to work tomorrow." He says looking up at Darry. I look at Darry and he gives me a look.

"Go ahead, Dare. I got him." I tell him. He nods and bids us a goodnight. I lay next Pony and rubs circles in his back. He falls asleep again. And I lay awake for a few more minutes. _Poor kid_ I think as I drift off again.

**Please review. And sorry for the long update, my mom came back from Afghanistan and I forgot to update. I will update as soon as I can.**


	10. Chapter 10

**I do not own The **_**Outsiders**_**, S.E Hinton does. **

Chapter 10

Darry's POV

I wake to hear footsteps and the bathroom light blinding me. I sit up and look at the clock. It's 3 in the morning. I would wake up again in three hours. I hear the sink running and I groan then sit up. There are more footsteps and I hear Soda talking to Ponyboy. I go into their room and see Soda putting a cool cloth on our youngest brother's forehead. I look at Ponyboy. He's still pale and he's cheeks are flushed and there's a thermometer in his mouth.

"Nightmare?" I ask Soda coming over to the bed.

"Yeah, but his fever is worse I think." He says pulling the thermometer out of Pony's mouth. He reads it and I want to snatch it out of his hands and read it for myself, but I resist the urge. I pray that Pony isn't sick again. The bills were already pilling up and I can't afford to take him to the hospital. I will if I have to though, debt be damned.

"What's it say?" I ask him rubbing Pony's backside.

"102.1. Is that bad?" he asks me timidly.

"It's a fever, but 102 isn't that high." I say rubbing Pony's shoulders now. "Ponyboy? How do you feel?" I ask him.

"Not so great." He says. I can tell that he's tired. "Can I sleep? You got work tomorrow." He says trying to get me back to bed. I feel guilty, I'm suppose to be able to be there for both of my brothers, but right now Ponyboy doesn't even want me here. I look and give him a look.

"Go ahead, Dare. I got him." He says. I nod and bid my brothers goodnight. I go back to bed and think about what I should do. Liz said that if Pony gets a fever above 103 I should take him to the hospital, but its only 102 so far. If he gets worse I'll take him. I fall asleep and dream of when mom and dad were alive and would take care of us.

When I wake up I go cheek on Ponyboy and Soda. They are both sleeping and holding each other close I go over to Pony and check his forehead. It's still warm, but it hasn't changed. I go over to Soda and gently nug him. He wakes up.

"Hi Darry." He says yawning. "How is he?"

"He still has a fever. Where did you put the thermometer last night? I want to check it again." I ask him.

"On the nightstand." He says getting up. I pick up the thermometer and go back over to my sleeping brother. I don't want to wake him up, but I know I have to. I brush his hair out of his eyes and he groans. Ponyboy is not a morning person at all. He opens his eyes and looks up at me.

"Morning Darry. What are you doing in here?" he asks me confused.

"I just need to check your temp again, buddy. Open your mouth for me. And hold this under your tongue." He does what I ask him to and puts the thermometer under his tongue. I make him hold it there for a few minutes until it's done. It says 102.4; it had changed some, but not much.

"What's it say Darry?" he crocks. I decide not to B.S him so I tell him the truth.

"102.4, it's not that high. Just relax, okay. I need to put antibiotic cream over your stitches again." I tell him going to the bathroom. Soda's in there taking a shower, so when he sees me in there he shouts at me to quit ogling him and get out. I know he's only joking when I hear him laughing. I roll my eyes grab the cream and go back to the room. Ponyboy is putting on a clean shirt and a pair of jeans.

"What are you doing?" I ask him.

"Come on Darry I feel fine I really do. Let me go to school." He says.

"Number one, kiddo: Your running a fever and Number two: You don't have school today. You got the day off. That just proves you shouldn't be up. Now put your pjs back on and get back in bed!" I scolded him. He groans and takes off his jeans.

"But I feel fine Darry!" he argues bending over to grab his pajama bottoms. He groans and almost doubles over, but I catch him in time.

"You feel fine, huh?" I say helping him over to the bed. He holds his side and leans his head back. I give him his bottoms and he shrugs them on.

"How's your side feel, Pone?" I ask him a bit more nicely.

"Like shit." He mutters. I smack him across the head.

"Watch your mouth. Take your shirt." He sits up slowly and takes off his shirt. I gasp. His stitches are red and swollen. There is yellow puss leaking thru the thread and the skin around it looks sickly.

"Wow, okay…um lay back down Ponyboy. I'm going to call Lizzy over. I think your stitches are infected." I say as calmly as I can. He tries to hide the panic in his eyes and nods. Soda comes in with a towel around his waist.

"What's wrong?" he asks seeing the fear in my eyes. I lean closer to his ear.

"Pony's stitches are infected. I'm going to call Elizabeth. Get dressed and keep him calm." I whisper to him. He nods acting as calm as possible. That's one thing that I envy about Sodapop, he can be calm and comforting without looking sissified.

I go dial Lizzy and after the fourth ring she answers.

"_Hello?" _

"Liz, its Darry. Listen I know it's short notice, but I need you to come over here." I say.

"_Whats wrong Darry?" _

"I think Pony's stitches are infected. They are red and there is yellow puss coming out of them."

"_Darry I can't come over today." _

"What do you mean you can't come over?" I nearly shout into the phone.

"_I have to go to work. I can't take another day off. I'll get fired. But listen take him to a free clinic and get him treated or take the stitches out, pour some alcohol over the incision site, put more antibiotic cream on it, re-stitch it and then wrap his side up."_ She says into the phone. I calm down and rub my temple.

"Thanks, babe." I say.

"_You're welcome. I'll come by after work, alright?" _

"Yeah alright. Bye, Lizzy."

"_Goodbye."_

I go back to the bathroom. I think about what I should do. I could take Pony to some crap state free clinic and hope that the interns know what they are doing, or I could take care of Pony by myself and send Sodapop to work. I know what I have to do and go into the boy's room.

Soda now fully dressed is sitting next to a panicky Ponyboy. Pony is sitting next to Soda trying to calm himself down. I go over next to him and rub his hair.

"Soda, go to work. I'm going to take Ponyboy to the free clinic." I tell him.

"NO!" I look at Ponyboy and see him freaking out again. "Darry, I do not want to go to another hospital. I don't want to deal with doctors poking me with needles. Please Darry I don't want to go!" he begs. I know how scared of doctors and needles he is, and I know that he trusts me more than the doctors at the clinic. I rub his hair again and look at Soda. Soda sighs and takes Ponyboy's hand. I look at Ponyboy again.

"Ponyboy, I can take you to the clinic or I can take care of you here. What do you want to do kiddo?" I ask him nicely.

"I want to stay here. You can take care of me." He says shyly. I look at Soda and motion him to follow me.

"Darry, maybe you should take him to the clinic. He might be getting worse." He says nervous.

"I know but I don't want him hyperventilating in the middle of the free clinic if the doc takes out a needle. I called Lizzy and she said I just have to take out his stitches, clean out the infection, and re-stitch him. He won't be as scared if I'm the one taking care of him. I know how to do stitches, Soda. He'll be fine." I tell him.

"Okay, I need to get to work. The boss said he wanted me there today anyway." Soda goes back to the room to say goodbye to Ponyboy. I go into the bathroom and get the first-aid kit and the bottle of alcohol. Soda has already left and I hear the truck zooming off. I roll my eyes and go into the bedroom. After I'm done taking care of Ponyboy, he's going to hate me.

**Please Review. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Outsiders**_**, S.E Hinton does.**

Chapter 11

Darry's POV

I was as nervous as hell. I would not doubt Ponyboy hating me for a week after I was done with this. I knew I should have taken him to the free clinic, but I didn't want him to be more afraid than he already was. If someone had to be causing him pain, I would rather it be me than some stranger doctor.

I went back into Ponyboy's and Soda's room and saw Pony still laying on the bed sweating and acting all nervous-like. I smiled at him when he looked up at me and he gave me a weak half smile. I sat on the edge of his bed and looked down at him.

"Last chance, kid. You want me to take you to the clinic or take care of you here?" I ask him hoping he'll say the clinic.

"Here, I don't want to go to no doctor at some rundown free clinic." He says nervous and jumpy. I sigh and open the bottle of alcohol and look at my youngest brother again.

"Now, I'm not going to lie to you. This is going to hurt like a mother, but I need you to hold still. This is the only time I'm going to allow you to curse, but nothing worse than damn it. You got that?" he nodes and closes his eyes. "Okay, I'm going to pour the alcohol on it now. Just stay still." I say as calm as I can be. I don't want to watch as I pour the liquid on the infected threads, so I close my eyes. I tip the bottle and hear Ponyboy scream at the top of his lungs.

"**Holy shit! **Darry for the love of God quit, it burns!" he screams trying to jump of the bed. I sit over his lap, so I can't crush him but he can't jump up.

"Sorry Pone, but this is for your own good." I say tipping the bottle up again. Pony's covered in sweat and has tears in his eyes. I run my fingers through his hair and he looks up at me.

"Pony, I know this hurts but please bear with me. I don't like this anymore than you do. Just hang tight and hold my hand. I'm going to pull the stitches out now, you're going to be bleeding a little but don't freak out on me. After this is done, I'll give you some Aspirin so you can sleep." I tell him. He grabs my left hand so I can take the stitches out with my right. I carefully pull at the stitches and hear Ponyboy hiss in pain. I decide to do this quickly so I can get this over with. Ponyboy yelps and tries to get up again. I sit over him again still holding his hand. He has my hand in a death grip, his knuckles turning purple.

"Ponyboy, try to relax. You're making yourself more stressed out than anything. Calm down and don't move. I'm almost done." I tell him. I keep pulling at the tread and holding his hand. Pony tries to calm down and evens out his breathing. His grip on my hand lessens, him closing his eyes instead. Part of my brain is screaming _stop, you're hurting him!_ The other half was screaming _this is for his own good, he'll thank you later. _I pull out the last stitch and blood starts to seep through. Ponyboy tries to sit up to see but I push him back down. I don't want to freak him out more. I place the towels over the incision site and put gentle pressure over it. I grab the bottle again and hold it out of Pony's eyesight.

"How you doing down there Ponyboy?" I ask nicely. He looks up at me and has a look of _'how the hell do you think I'm doing?'_

"Are you almost done?" he asks weakly.

"Almost, little buddy. Just relax and stop moving. It'll be over before you know it." I tell him stroking his hair. He nods and leans his head back. He grabs my hand again and yelps and swears as I pour more of the disinfectant liquid in the cut. I sign and let him crush my hand, but I don't mind though, I can take it. As long as he doesn't jumps off the bed screaming, I'm fine with him swearing till he's blue in the face. I tip the bottle back up and recap it.

"Alright, all I have to now is re-stitch the cut and wrap it up. You're doing great, kiddo. I know this hurts and you're being really tough about this." I tell him trying to be comforting feeling like a jerk for doing this for him. Now I really wish I would have taken him to the clinic. I grab the needle and thread wiping the needle with the alcohol and let go of his hand. I push the needle through Ponyboy's skin and start to stitch him. I have given the guys stitches before after rumble and other household accidents. I quickly finish stitching him and grab his hand again.

"Almost done bud." I tell him. I uncap the antibiotic cream and rub it over his stitches. After I get down with that I look at my little brother again.

"Here buddy, sit up." I tell him. I help him sit up and wrap his side up. I tighten the bandages and let him lay done again.

"Are you done?" he asks sounding weak and hopeful.

"Yeah, little buddy, I'm done." I say lying down next to him. He scoots closer to me, and I pull him in closer to me. I don't get many chances to be this close with my youngest brother, and I don't want to miss this one. Our relationship as gotten worse after our folks died, but hopefully it'll get better.

We must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew Soda was shaking me awake. I open my eyes and see Soda smiling down at me and Ponyboy.

"How did he do?" Soda asks me. I stand up and rub my eyes.

"Pretty good, better than I thought he would. He fell asleep after I got done. When did you get here?"

"About half an hour ago. Dinner's ready, you want to wake him up?" he says sitting on the bed running his finger through Pony's hair.

"No, let him sleep. He needs it, come on I'm starved." I tell him walking towards the doorway. Soda still sitting on the bed.

"He'll be fine, Pepsi." I tell him. He nods and stands up. He walks out and goes to the table. I stay for a little longer looking at my little brother. I stand there thinking about the what ifs, what if I didn't call Lizzy, what if his fever got so high he would have died, what if they couldn't get his heart re-started, and what if I would have taken him to the free clinic? I shake my head and am just thankful that I still have my youngest brother. I turn off the light and go to the table to eat whatever odd diner Soda has cooked.

**This is the end! Hoped you liked the story, please Review. P.S I want to thank every one of you guys who has ever reviewed, you guys rock! Also I'm looking for a Beta Reader, someone with experience how can point out typos and grammar mistakes. **


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